Shop Local, Buy Handmade in Dunnville, Ontario

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Growing up in a small town, there is always this sense that you recognize everyone and certainly know everything about the people with whom you grew up and went to school for years. A week ago or so, one of my old classmates was putting up something in the Garfield Disher Room at the Library, and I didn’t really think about it, until the end of day when I went to lock up that area of the Library. It turns out my former classmate is a really talented artist. I sort of remember him being good at Art in school, but he’s never mentioned it any of the times we ran into each other, and I just assumed, as with most adults, his childhood creativity diminished with age. Now, these photos aren’t the greatest. I only had my cellphone with me that day, but keeping that in mind, I know present you with the artwork of Andrew Zahorouski, talented Dunnville artist.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Andrew’s work, please visit his website here or stop by the Dunnville Public Library in the next few weeks. The paintings are even more beautiful in person.

Dunnville is home to a few authors, and I mean, successful ones, did you know that?

If you search famous Dunnville people online, you get a list of hockey players and one lacrosse player, occasionally a politician. I’ve mentioned that before. I haven’t read any of the books written by Dunnville authors. I can’t vouch for their quality, but enough other people will if you look them up on goodreads.

He also writes screenplays and his books have been made into movies (which I also haven’t seen). I know I try to really promote this town, but I can’t keep up with everything! He’s books are the thriller type – masculine, tough, gritty. I know that “masculinity” is subjective, but what I mean is, it’s all the things people associate with “masculinity”. Brad Smith is a good speaker and really nice guy. (The perks of small town life, you know everyone who lives here, especially when you work in a public building.)

Okay, Gord Rollo is one of the people in Dunnville that I don’t actually know. I had to google if he was actually from Dunnville, because he wasn’t born here and it’s not mentioned anywhere on his website.

He writes horror stories, which may or may not be set in Dunnville. Some reviews list his novel Crimson as being in set in Dunnville but others say Davenport, so I’m guessing there was a name change somewhere along the way. He works are noted for their gore and some people compare his work to Stephen King. As I am not a horror fan in any capacity, (zombies on tv don’t count), I have not read his books, and likely never will simply because I don’t like horror, (it grosses me out and gives me nightmares like I’m a five year old).

Both Smith and Rollo make public appearances and have gained some notoriety within the town itself. I’m not entirely sure most people, even in Dunnville, know about Blackwood. She’s very reserved and keeps to herself, and in fact writes with a pen name, but I won’t reveal her true identity. Her books are sci-fi or fantasy, and definitely the ones I would read first. They fit within the increasingly popular supernatural genre, and are love stories. They are not vampire books, thank goodness.

I didn’t link to copies of the books for purchase, but I have linked to all the author webpages, and books can be purchased on their sites.

This list is not exhaustive. Josie Penny, Bill Casselman, and Matt Armstrong have also written books that are widely read. I am sure there are others and would love to be reminded who they are, so that in future, I can blog about them as well!

Not only is Dunnville this kinda cute small town, it has a lot of really great parks and scenic views. Even in the winter Rock Point Provincial Park is worth visiting. Just wear boots even on a mild day, because you’re bound to encounter mud. The park is right on Lake Erie, and no matter what the weather, the lake is beautiful. Never underestimate a place before you explore it fully.

we hosted another craft sale! I was so impressed with how lovely all the vendor displays were… my tables never look great, so I know how much work goes into having everything look perfect. We weren’t as busy as we could have been, but the soup kitchen raised some money, so that’s the main thing. I’m going to share the things that I picked up, but I’ll do a separate post for that. In the meantime, here are a few snaps of the vendors, mostly taken by the Dunnville Teen Photographers. And… to everyone who participated, thank you so much for coming out to support the kitchen, and for all the kind words you sent me afterwards about the show. It means so much to me.

And me….

These girls, dressed as Whos, ran the ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ photo booth this year… I love the fun outfits and crazy hair.

The craft sale committee decided that instead of running a March show, we would have a larger outdoor/indoor event in June, during Dunnville’s Mudcat Festival. Even though it’s a long way off still, I’m going to start booking vendors any time, so if you’re interested, please let me know!

The Agape’s Door Soup Kitchen Fundraiser is less than a month away. All the tables are booked and tonight I’m painting part of the Dunnville Teen Photographer’s photo set.

I thought I’d introduce everyone to a few of the vendors beforehand, although many of them don’t have websites which I can provide. This way, you can plan ahead, or if you miss the fair, you’ll still know who to contact locally for hand-crafted gifts!

Ken and Lori Wiseman make an assortment of wood crafts including bowls, crates, cutting boards, pretty much anything you could want. I’m fairly certain Lori is making additional Christmas ornaments, but I’m not sure of the details.

Maura Cooper is selling her delicious jams, breads and baked goods. She’s known all over the area for her products, so definitely stop by her table.

A Lovely Little World photography (myself) will be there, obviously. Although I gave up my table, my photographs will be displayed down the hallway and I should have some peg dolls and assorted jewelry for purchase in the photo booth area.

Debbie Van Grieken will be there selling her fair trade products. These include sweaters, hats, pencil cases, yoga bags, and books. I’m not such which items she will have on hand, but you can contact her at Global Hearts.

The Friends of the Library will have a table. I believe they are selling tickets for their annual 12 Days of Christmas Library fundraiser. There are twelve prizes for which you can enter to win. They will also have other things for sale, maybe books.

Lori Baker is a Steeped Tea representative and she will have lots of stock on hand! I love tea, so yeah, I’m pretty excited about that.

Bill Yzerman makes lovely home decorations out of wood. I’m not going to try to describe them, they’re super cool, just look for yourself here.

The Edible Florist will be joining us, as will an Arbonne, Scentsy, and (another product I’m going to have to look up) representative.

Doris Sutton will be selling beaded doilies and other lovely handmade things.

Deb Hartery will be selling her Christmas wreaths, along her side her friend Cathy Very, who makes gorgeous jewelry and was at the last show. You can check out Cathy’s products at Fashionable Gem Wear.

Michelle Galley Salgueiro personalizes retro signs.

Kim Rose makes absolutely gorgeous stained glass, and it’s very reasonably priced. I’m going to post a photo of a larger piece but she makes necklace sized stained glass too. You can see her work here.

The last link I’m going to provide is for BuBu Bijou. The artist is from Burlington and I’m not familiar with her work yet, but this is the website.

These craft fairs are smaller granted, but I know all my sellers are top notch! And the soup kitchen is always a good cause for a fundraiser, so please come out and show your support, start your Christmas shopping and enjoy the day!

Any questions can be directed to me, Charity Blaine at alovelylittleworld@yahoo.com

I’m not going to lie, I’m excited about this already, and I don’t have a thing ready for my table!

If you’re in the area, we’d love for you to join us! It will definitely be fun. And the Dunnville Teen Photographers would love to practice their portrait skills and snap your photo in their photo booth! Only $3.00!

So this is the first time I’ve done a post quite like this, but I hope to do more. Dunnville, as everyone already knows, is a really great little place, but it’s easy to say “Oh, we don’t have that here, we have to shop in the city”. I’m as guilty as the next person. I have been trying lately to actually look for things I want, rather than just assuming they aren’t available in town. That’s why inspired this particular blog “feature”.

So to begin, yoga as an exercise seems like it’s hear to stay. I love it personally. Not that I share a lot of the yogi thought patterns, so much as just the exercise positions themselves.

You can buy everything you need to yoga in Dunnville.

Yoga pants – Giant Tiger

Yoga mat – Canadian Tire

T-shirt – My own design, ordered from Vistaprint, but obviously you can get t-shirts and tank tops in town

Yoga Mat Bag – Purchased from local fair trade seller, Debbie Van Grieken. She has all kinds of really great items. I only own her yoga mat bag, so here are a few more photos I took of it, just for practice doing product photos. Also, it was this bag that inspired the post in the first place.

Finally, just because yoga (and the day), are so wonderfully peaceful,

I’m crazy for fall, so I love the little evidences that it is soon approaching!